# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Spring is normally a time to break out of the wintry routine. This year, many of us are required to limit our contact with other people by not going out to public places. Keeping a social distance may cause you or your family members to experience new feelings.

We all handle stress from these situations differently. It's important to know that there are things you can do to help yourself and your family. There are also resources, specific to your community, if more assistance is needed.

Lifestyle changes are sometimes required to help manage stress. Steps to take care of yourself include eating right, staying well hydrated and getting adequate sleep. If you're able to be physically active that can also help to manage stress and reduce symptoms of anxiety.

Finding other activities that you enjoy, such as reading, can replace the time spent worrying and help you to relax. This may also be a great time to start a new hobby or to resume one that you haven't had the time for in a while. There are a lot of ways to make the most of your time at home.

Staying connected with friends and family can help limit feelings of being alone, and there are so many forms of technology today which provide that outlet. There are also online resources from reliable organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that can help you to manage anxiety and stress.

If you do find it harder to cope with daily activities or recognize these changes in someone you care about, speak with a healthcare provider right away.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Spring is normally a time to break out of the wintry routine. This year, many of us are required to limit our contact with other people by not going out to public places. Keeping a social distance may cause you or your family members to experience new feelings.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Have you ever felt stressed? You're not alone. Everybody feels stressed at times, even kids.

But here's something you might not know: Stress isn't always bad. At times, stress can help you. Here are some examples.

Stress can help you stay safe.

Any time your brain detects a possible danger, it turns on an instant body and mind alert - called stress. Here how it works.

Let's say you're crossing the street. Suddenly, you see a car coming fast around the corner. Your body turns on stress hormones that prompt you to react quickly. Stress hormones give you an extra burst of energy, focus, strength, and speed. Your eyes open wider. Your mind is more alert. Your attention is focused. Your heart beats faster to pump extra oxygen to your muscles. You breathe faster. Thanks to this stress alert from your body, you dodge that car and jump back to safety. Whew!

When you're safe, your brain turns off the stress alert. Your body turns off the stress hormones. As the stress hormones stop flowing, your body returns to your normal non-stressed state. Your body and mind settle down. You look both ways, and safely cross the street.

Your body's stress alert is also called fight-flight-or-freeze. That's because stress prepares you to fight harder, run faster, or freeze in place if you need to.

Stress can help you face a big moment.

Let's say it's your turn to compete in a sport, try out for a spot on the team, sing a solo, walk on stage, or give a talk in class. These things aren't dangerous. But they can feel stressful.

At moments like these, stress hormones can cause your heart to beat faster. Your hands or legs might shake. You might feel "butterflies" in your stomach. But you don't have to let these feelings hold you back.

Try to think of these body feelings as a surge of energy. Let them be a signal to get ready, get set, focus.

If the stress in your body feels too strong, take a slow, deep breath in. Then let it out all the way. Tell yourself, "I've got this." Gather your courage. Feel yourself standing strong, feel your feet on the floor. Take another slow steady breath. And then go ahead and give it your best try. When you face your challenge, your stress can ease up.

Facing big moments like these can be stressful. But with practice, you can get good at handling them. Each time you do, you'll feel less stressed and more confident.

Stress can push you to get prepared.

There's a test, tryout, or big event coming up in a few days. You might feel a little stressed over it. That can be a good thing. Let your stress remind you to study, prepare, or practice. When the big moment comes, you'll feel less stressed. You'll feel steady and ready.

What if you feel too much stress or worry about a test or tryout? Too much stress is hard on you. It can lead you to avoid getting ready for what's ahead. And that makes it harder to do your best.

If you dread or worry about something that's coming up, or if you feel butterflies in your stomach just thinking about it, talk to an adult. Ask a parent, teacher, or another adult to help you learn ways to lower your stress. That way, tests and tryouts - and other big moments - will be easier to handle.

Stress can tell you there's a problem that needs your attention.

Some stress is caused by a problem that's hard to cope with or a problem that goes on for a while. For example, some people go through things like bullying or a serious illness or injury. Some have parents who split up or who have a lot of conflict. For some, a loved one has died. Some people go through trauma, abuse, or injustice. Some don't feel safe or accepted. Some have seen violence in their family, their community, or in the media.

Stress like this doesn't turn off the same way as it does after a test or a tryout. With stress like this, your body's stress hormones can stay turned on at a low level. When a problem is still going on, you might feel stressed a lot of the time. This can be hard on you.

To get relief from this kind of stress, you need support. And you need help with the problem that's causing it.

If you feel stress like this, it's time to talk things over with an adult you trust. This can be the first step to getting relief from your stress - and getting help with the problem.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Everybody feels stressed at time, even kids. But stress isn’t always bad. It can help you stay safe or push you to be prepared for important tasks. This article helps kids know how to handle stress and what to do if it gets too much.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Stress management is the name for a number of techniques to control the level of psychical stress situations. It is usually done to impove everyday functioning. Stress produces many physical and mental symptoms which are different in every individual situation. Stress can make physical health worse, and it can lead to clinical depression. The process of stress management is named as one of the keys to a happy and successful life in modern society Although life provides numerous demands that can prove difficult to handle, stress management provides a number of ways to manage anxiety and maintain overall well-being.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Stress management is the name for a number of techniques to control the level of psychical stress situations. It is usually done to impove everyday functioning. Stress produces many physical and mental symptoms which are different in every individual situation. Stress can make physical health worse, and it can lead to clinical depression.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Let's Begin...

Stress isn't always a bad thing; it can be handy for a burst of extra energy and focus, like when you're playing a competitive sport or have to speak in public. But when it's continuous, it actually begins to change your brain. Madhumita Murgia shows how chronic stress can affect brain size, its structure, and how it functions, right down to the level of your genes.

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here "

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How stress affects your brain - Madhumita Murgia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Stress isn't always a bad thing; it can be handy for a burst of extra energy and focus, like when you're playing a competitive sport or have to speak in public. But when it's continuous, it actually begins to change your brain.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Let's take a closer look at how the stress response works. When your brain senses danger, your amygdala, the part of your brain that helps with emotional processing, sends an alarm signal to your hypothalamus. Acting as command central, your hypothalamus activates your sympathetic nervous system. This part of your autonomic nervous system leads to the release of adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) from your adrenal glands into your blood stream. All this happens in a split second.

After adrenaline subsides, the second phase of your stress response kicks in. The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis triggers your adrenal glands to secrete cortisol and keeps your sympathetic nervous system in high gear. This continues so long as you are faced with a threatening situation.

There are two parts to your stress response-turning it on and turning it off. When a perceived threat is gone, your parasympathetic nervous system, the other arm of your autonomic nervous system, steps in to cool your body down. Your stress hormones go back to their normal levels.

Without the latter relaxation phase of the stress response, stress can spiral into a chronic state. According to the American Psychological Association, stress is becoming a public health crisis. Their survey shows that in America, 44% of people reported an increase in psychological stress in the past five years. The health consequences are compounded since the lifestyle and behavioral changes needed to mitigate stress often seem insurmountable in times of stress. For additional resources to learn more about stress and stress management, you can visit the American Psychological Association's site

Stress can even take years off your life. In this 2004 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Elissa Epel and her colleagues looked at telomere length in 58 biological mothers who either cared for a healthy child ("control mothers") or a chronically ill child ("caregiver mothers"). The women who felt the most perceived stress had telomeres that were shorter on average by the equivalent of a whole decade of aging compared to mothers that felt the least stressed.

Fortunately, you can dampen your stress response by changing how you perceive a stressful event. Rather than trying to eliminate stress, which is an inescapable part of everyday life, you can build your resilience to stress. Stanford health psychologist, Kelly McGonigal, shares in her TED talk on how staying socially connected and helping others can help you adapt to stress. Other powerful habits are learning how to practice gratitude, and optimism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How stress affects your body - Sharon Horesh Bergquist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our hard-wired stress response is designed to give us the quick burst of heightened alertness and energy needed to perform our best. But stress isn't all good. When activated too long or too often, stress can damage virtually every part of our body.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Trauma is any negative life event in which the brain perceives a real sense of danger, horror, and helplessness. PTSD occurs when people are directly exposed to, repeatedly exposed to, or witness horrific events, such as death, abuse, domestic violence, or war. During these events, the body's stress response kicks into overdrive. Studies show that women are more likely to experience sexual abuse as children, whereas men are more likely to experience physical assault or witness death.

A person's PTSD symptoms may prove indiscernible to others. When people are reliving their trauma, they sometimes stare off into space as if they are watching a movie. This is known as the "thousand-yard stare" and is typically the only observable symptom.

Prompted by the autonomic nervous system (ANS), the brain sends alert signals to prepare the body to ward off danger. This survival instinct reaction is called the hyperarousal acute stress response, or, as it's more commonly called, the fight-flight-freeze response. This reduces overall brain functioning. PTSD is considered an anxiety-based disorder with symptoms that fall into in four categories: intrusive thoughts, like dreams and flashbacks; avoiding reminders of the trauma; negative thoughts and feelings of fear, anger, horror, shame and guilt; and "reactive" symptoms like irritability, self-destructive behaviors, physical outbursts, and difficulty sleeping. Not everyone with PTSD has all of these symptoms, and they tend to vary in form and intensity from person to person. Sometimes symptoms disappear completely and resurface years later when the traumatic event is triggered again by another stimulus. When the symptoms last for more than a month, they are chronic, and diagnosed as PTSD.

The adaptability of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis plays a key role in how our stress response engages when we're exposed to a traumatic event. When the hypothalamus sends a message to the ANS, the bloodstream is flooded with several different stress hormones, such as cortisol. These hormones also release extremely high levels of natural opiates, which temporarily mask pain. A person may feel as if the event is occurring right now-their brains re-experience the traumatic event through surges of energy and intrusive thoughts. Severe anxiety can result as they experience a heightened sensitivity to potential dangers. Researchers found that people with PTSD continue to produce higher levels of stress hormones after the trauma is over, which may explain why emotional symptoms linger after the threat is gone.

Triggers are physical and emotional stimuli randomly associated with the traumatic experience. Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch can act as triggers that cause a memory to light up the brain. Other examples of triggers include specific people, crowded places, songs, or emotions. When triggers are re-experienced, the brain sends signals to the body to prepare to defend itself against more trauma.

Because PTSD is repetitive and multilayered, triggers may cause false alarms. Some triggers are obvious to the person experiencing them and easy to understand. Others are buried in the subconscious, making it difficult to determine why the brain is overreacting. The triggered experience often causes depersonalization, which is when someone feels as if the memory is an out-of-body experience, or de-realization, when the experience feels unreal or distorted. When our warning signs are tripped, the ANS reengages our brain's hypothalamus and the process starts over again.

People with PTSD tend to isolate themselves and can suffer from depression. In response, they avoid situations, events, and people that remind them of their trauma. Other mental illnesses can occur after experiencing a traumatic episode, such as substance abuse or panic attacks. Sufferers can be seen as "unable to cope." Because of this, they may feel invalidated, ignored, and misunderstood.

PTSD is also known as the unseen or hidden wound. Those with PTSD say that they feel as if a pause button has been pushed on their life while the rest of the world moves on.

With social support, understanding, and empathy, people with PTSD can embrace their incredible personal strength, resiliency, and balance that they feel have been lost. Self-care, medication, mindfulness, and psychotherapy can help PTSD sufferers regain their self-esteem. Other exposure-based treatments, like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), group therapy, and psychotropic medication also help those experiencing PTSD.

PTSD can happen to anyone and is not a sign of weakness. With early detection, PTSD is significantly easier to treat. Know the warning signs of stress and PTSD before they feel out of control. To find out how to get help and support, click here.

In addition to being a prominent family and relationship psychotherapist and clinical director, the educator is also a published author who discusses military psychology, Behavioral Risk Threat Assessment, and wellness.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The psychology of post-traumatic stress disorder - Joelle Maletis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many of us will experience some kind of trauma during our lifetime. Sometimes, we escape with no long-term effects. But for millions of people, those experiences linger, causing symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and negative thoughts that interfere with everyday life. Joelle Rabow Maletis details the science behind post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Meet Google Drive - One place for all your files

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Google Drive is a free way to keep your files backed up and easy to reach from any phone, tablet, or computer. Start with 15GB of Google storage - free.